Page 113 of Almost Always

They laughed and stopped at the fenced off area. She pulled out her list, with pictures beside each one so Harriet could make a choice.

“The aster is a good plant and comes in various colors and I always try to recommend dahlias, because they’re so unique,” she explained, pointing at each one. “Sneezeweed and tickseed might sound weird, but they’re pretty hardy and will power through the changing seasons.”

“They bring in butterflies, don’t they?”

“They do! It’s usually why people like them in gardens. A lot of these are poisonous for animals, so there will need to be strict rules about bringing pets to this corner of the park.”

Harriet sighed softly, but nodded. “The council will have a field day with that. All right, what else do you have for me?”

“Primroses, mums, winter heaths and the coneflower. I did consider a few succulents, but they might use up all the moisture, leaving the plants with nothing.”

“Maybe we can revisit that in the spring?”

“Absolutely,” she told the older woman and gestured to her truck. “I can start today.”

“Oh. But there’s nobody to help.”

“It’s a one person job,” she insisted with a grin.

“Honestly, Daisy, this is a lot of work!”

Looking at the garden and at Harriet, she shrugged. “I came prepared to get started on my own, if I’m being honest. Over the week my staff will come and finish up everything else.”

“Only if you’re absolutely sure.”

“I am. I’ll let you know when I’m wrapping up, okay?”

Harriet stayed for the first few minutes as Daisy prepped the soil and once she’d left, she slipped in her AirPods and let the audiobook play. All she had to do was loosen the soil and add in the organic matter she’d collected. While she wouldn’t be able to start planting that day, she marked out the areas for different flowers, keeping in mind the amount of water and attention they’d need and coordinating between colors.

She was in the middle of laying down boards to compact the soil when a call came through.

“Hello?” she said, grunting as she adjusted the boards.

“Hero,” the voice croaked and she pulled her phone out.Rafferty.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I got whatever Cal has.” He sounded hoarse and like every attempt to speak was hurting him. She heard a throat being cleared in the background, followed by soft whining. Callahan said something she couldn’t decipher, but she finished laying out the boards and gathered her things.

“I’m on my way.”

Rushing to her truck, she sent Harriet a text to let her know the work wasn’t complete, but she’d return in the morning. She stopped at the pharmacy, grabbing whatever she could get that would soothe a sore throat. Since they weren’t certain what Cal picked up at camp, she was basing her symptoms on what she’d heard over the phone. The fact that she got to the Ames house without any incidents was a good thing, because it was the worst she’d ever driven. When she let herself into the house, Boots was tap-dancing nervously, tail tucked between his legs.

“It’s okay, buddy,” she assured him, kicked off her shoes and slid on the mask she’d picked up as well. Boots stuck to her side as she pushed open the door to the master bedroom. Father and son were tucked together, bundled under the covers.

“Daisy?”

“Hey honey,” she said softly, setting the medicines on the nightstand. She brushed a hand over his forehead and hissed at the heat. “You’re burning up.”

“What can I say, too hot to handle.”

“Behave yourself. How’s Cal?”

Rafferty swallowed before speaking. “He complained of a stomach ache, but has been asleep for most of the day.”

My poor boys. “I picked up something, hopefully it works.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and helped him sit up. She ripped open the pills and handed it to him along with water. Wincing and groaning he swallowed them and slumped back against the headboard.

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